Isle of Death
by YumeNoAnata
Summary: Sequel to Inevitability. Six months after the events of Inevitability, Naru takes the SPR to England where a deadly case has stumped the country's best investigators. Now SPR is the last hope. Will a case of bloody pasts and deaths bring Naru and Mai even closer or will one be lost forever?
1. Prologue

Summary:Sequel to Inevitability. Six months after the events of Inevitability, Naru takes the SPR to England where a deadly case has stumped the country's best investigators. Now SPR is the last hope. Will a case of bloody pasts and deaths bring Naru and Mai even closer or will one be lost forever?

It is not necessary to read Inevitability before reading this, all you need to know is that Naru and Mai are married and have a son called Yakumo.

* * *

**Isle of Death**

**Prologue:**

It was just a typical at SPR. Lin was sat in his office, typing as usual. Yasuhara was filing, as per normal. Bou-san and Ayako were being told off by the resident narcissist for making too much noise; this was a daily occurrence.

"How many times must I tell you that this is not a cafe?" he griped and glared at the duo. "Unlike you two, we are busy here."

The pair eyed the scientist carefully. A vein was pulsing in his forehead and he seemed to be more distinctly touchy than usual. Bou-san glanced around the office to find that there was no sign of the only person who could calm Naru down.

"Would you like some tea?" he offered. "Caffeine cravings can really get you down, we've all been there."

"There is no tea here, we ran out," Naru answered reluctantly.

As if on cue his wife burst in, followed a few seconds later by his son. Mai had flushed red cheeks and pale skin as if she had run all the way up the stairs and she was holding out a tin of tea triumphantly.

"Will you revive if I wave it under your nose?" she giggled.

Naru stared at her unamusedly. "Mai, tea," he said, not answering back to the quip.

Everyone exchanged knowing looks. Mai was the only person that could bait Oliver Davis without any adverse effects. It probably had something to do with the fact that she was his wife.

Yakumo ran forward and smiled up at his father who gave him a small smile back and patted his head.

Mai hung up her coat and walked off to the kitchen followed by Naru. Their son stayed behind to play with Ayako and the monk who doted on him the most.

The resident tea maker filled up the kettle with water and set it to boil. A pair of arms wrapped around her from behind. She smiled indulgently. Her husband only had occasional bouts of being affectionate with her, but the moments had been increasing lately.

"I'm not tea, Naru. Go sniff a teabag if you want your fix."

He laid his head on her shoulder. "Mai, I did not marry you for the tea. I don't know why everyone seems to think so."

"Even your parents entertained the suspicion," she said as she recalled their second honeymoon in England when his parents witnessed their son sniffing his new wife, saying that she smelled like tea.

"You are the one that spilled it down yourself," Naru said, as if reading her thoughts. "It is not my fault that they seemed to be under the impression that it was my idea of a romantic gesture."

Mai placed the tea leaves in a strainer and poured the boiling water through it with skilful movements. Luella Davis had showed her how to make English tea so she now made Japanese and English tea for Naru.

"Your idea of a romantic gesture is those tortuous English lessons."

"They paid off. You can pronounce L now," he retorted. "In any case, you cannot say that I don't reward you."

"What do I get for "**Noll is a narcissist, but I love him?**" she quipped as she handed him his cup of tea.

Naru placed the steaming cup on the kitchen worktop and pressed his lips against hers gently. Mai pulled him closer and he brushed his tongue against her lower lip before pushing it into her mouth and touching the roof of her mouth. His wife gasped and he used that as a distraction to push her against the wall.

"Naru..." she murmured breathlessly with a glazed look on her face.

Naru smirked. No matter how many times he did that to her, she always reacted in the same way which made him want to do it even more.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought him back to reality. He was in SPR, his place of work with many nosy employees. However since the person was not teasing him, he knew it was safe.

"What do you want, Lin?" he asked, without turning his head.

"Your mother is on the phone."

This made him release Mai and walk over to Lin who was holding the cordless phone in one hand. He picked it up and locked himself in his private office. His tea was going to have to wait.

"**Hello Mum**," he said in English.

"**How are you and Mai getting on?**" she asked with a laugh.

"**We are still married. There is nothing to worry about. What did you really phone for? You call Mai every couple of days to talk to her and get the gossip so it clearly is not what you really phoned for."**

There was an intake of breath over the line. "**You're still very sharp. I'm calling you to ask if you want to take on a case in England."**

**"Why me? There are plenty of investigators in Great Britain and I'm all the way in Japan."**

There was a pause. "**It's a very difficult case, Noll. You are our last resort. The case has claimed several investigators' lives and made others quit their careers."**

**"Where is it?"**

**"Martin sent you the case file just now. You can leave Mai in Japan if you see fit; you did tell me that she was a magnet for trouble."**

**"How many plane tickets did you purchase?" **he enquired as he logged into his email account.

**"Eight. Narita to Heathrow. In two days time. I didn't get one for your son because I felt that he is too young."**

Naru clicked on the email from his father to find an image of a ruin which looked like a castle and the attached case file. He opened it to read.

The location was the island St. Marys in the Isles of Scilly which were a group of small islands just off the south west of England with a rich history. The site of the case, the castle dated back to the 16th century and for the past year flashing lights had been spotted emitting from the structure and all the island residents' pet cats had gone missing and had turned up decapitated in the old moat. Several paranormal investigators had gone to investigate and the unlucky ones had turned up the same way as the cats. Naru frowned. The lucky ones had become uncontrollably paranoid and had completely disappeared.

If he accepted the case it would be their most dangerous yet. He would have to make everyone aware of what accepting the case entailed.

He scrolled to the bottom of the document to read that a few days ago a group of teenagers had sneaked into the ruins on a dare and only one had made it back out. The others had been found in the moat with their heads missing which was presumably why he had been asked to investigate as a last resort to prevent anymore lives being lost.

Naru stood up. He would inform everyone about the case and let them make their mind up. He would also have a talk with Mai. He walked out of his office and entered Lin's.

"Call everyone here."

The employees of SPR read the case file with trepidation. None of them, apart from Lin had ever seen their boss so serious before. A read of the case synopsis explained why. It was a very gruesome case with deadly consequences if anyone made a misstep.

"Who would be willing to come to the island with me?" he queried as he sipped his tea.

There was a short silence as everyone made up their minds.

"If anyone wants to leave at the slightest of danger, they will not be stopped," he added.

"I'm going as I have to accompany you anyway," Lin said and closed his copy of the case file.

"I cannot go. Not because I am scared, but due to filming commitments that I cancelled last month due to the previous case and I cannot put them off for any longer," Masako explained. "If you want to ask me for advice whilst you are there, you may."

"That is fine, Hara-san."

"I will go," Ayako said after a moment of indecision. "As it is a relatively uninhabited island there should be some trees that I can call on."

"If the old lady is going, I'm going too," Bou-san smirked. "She'll just say that it is a land bound spirit; you do need an actual useful person with you, Naru-chan."

"I'm coming, you always need a good researcher and it will probably be vital as this case sounds dangerous," Yasuhara said and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"I will come, Davis-san, whatever is killing, it needs to be stopped before more lives are lost," John said.

"That is everyone apart from Hara-san and Mai," Naru summarised before meeting his wife's eyes. "You want to come."

Mai nodded. "My dreams might come in useful and someone needs to keep you in control. I will get Hana to look after Yakumo whilst we are away. She did say that she was missing him."

"That is a wise decision," her husband agreed. "If I tell you that it is too dangerous and to leave, you will leave the island, that is your condition for going. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Mai promised sincerely. "Pinky promise?"

Naru rolled his eyes but he shook fingers with her nevertheless.

"We will be leaving in two days time. Make sure to pack everything that you will need for an exorcism," Naru said. "Mai, English lesson in my office. Now."

* * *

**Updates will be once a week again. **

**The Isles of Scilly are a group of islands off the south west of England and "Scilly" is pronounced "silly".**

**Now to get back to that fascinating presentation on Knitted Structures... **


	2. Reunion

**Isle of death**

**Chapter 1:**

**Bold text denotes speaking in English**

* * *

Two plane flights later, the SPR landed at Heathrow airport in London. It had been arranged that they would spend a night at the Davis residence before driving for eight hours to Cornwall and taking a ferry to St. Mary's.

The SPR employees trudged through security and immigration and out the exit where Naru's foster parents were waiting.

Mau dumped her luggage into Naru's arms and ran over to hug Luella Davis.

"**Luella! It's nice to see you again**," she said in English.

The woman beamed at her son's wife. "**Your pronunciation has improved a lot, Mai-chan. Has Noll been teaching you again?"**

A black clad arm handed Mai her suitcase and handbag back. She looked up to see her employer and husband glaring at her.

**"It has been slow progress teaching this idiot, but somehow I have managed to teach her a few things," **he informed his mother who sent him a disapproving look.

"**You shouldn't be so mean to your adorable wife, right Martin?" **she turned to her husband for agreement.

This was a well worn argument for the professor who had to hear it every time his son's cold personality was referenced.

"**It's Noll's way of showing affection. We have a daughter in law and a grandchild, that is enough**," he said and nodded to his son who nodded his thanks for getting his mother off his case.

Martin shook hands with everyone from SPR, having met them before at his son's wedding before leading them out of the airport to where two black vans were waiting.

"**You will take these down to Cornwall tomorrow, but you will have to rent other transport on the island if necessary**," Martin said to Naru. "**You will have to carry all of the equipment on to ferry, I have made special arrangements for you so it will be allowed**."

"**That's very considerate of you**," Naru answered and sat down in the van next to Mai who was already asleep from exhaustion.

He poked her face as Lin pulled the van out of the airport car park and onto the road.

"Mai, you cannot sleep now, it will not help you adjust."

Mai turned her face away. "Just a few more minutes."

He sighed. "I am going to poke you every five seconds until you wake up."

"That's being mean to your wife," Bou-san interjected, unable to keep quiet for any longer.

"She will thank me for allowing her body clock to adjust to the time difference," Naru retorted as he poked her soft cheek gently. "Mai, if you stay awake I will reward you."

Strangely enough Mai managed to crack open an eyelid. "What reward do I get?"

Naru smirked, he had obtained her attention. "I might say "thank you" for once."

Immediately she perked up and adjusted her posture so she wouldn't succumb to sleep so easily. Much to her husband's amusement she pinched herself every few seconds for the rest of the journey to his parents' house.

The Davis residence was modestly sized for an English house in a city. It was Victorian with ornate pillars and brickwork. Having never seen the house before, all the SPR irregulars stared at it in awe.

"You never mentioned that you lived in a mansion," Bou-san commented.

"It's not a mansion, Japanese houses are just a lot smaller," the narcissist answered. "As testament to its size you will all be sharing rooms."

He turned round to see his mother shooting him a reproachful look.

"**Yes, Mum?**"

**"There are only two females in your group and I assume that you are sharing with Mai, leaving Ayako on her own."**

"**She can share with Bou-san and they can argue a lot and them realise that their ways of showing affection are insulting each other about their age**," her son said dismissively as he entered the house, carrying his and Mai's luggage. "Hurry up, Mai."

"Yes," Mai said and ran in after him.

Luella blinked in surprise. He was becoming more considerate to others now and subtly kind to his wife. She wouldn't have to give him a talk after all. She beamed and made her way into the house behind the SPR employees.

* * *

After dinner Mai served everyone tea in the living room. To fit in with the location she had made Darjeeling as opposed to green tea. She handed the last one to her spouse and waited for the promised "thank you."

Naru took a sip and became aware that he was being eyeballed from all directions.

"Yes?"

"You promised Mai if she stayed awake in the car that you would say "thank you"," John, who had been a witness reminded Naru.

"I remember saying "I might"," Naru smirked at Mai who was rapidly becoming annoyed.

"If you don't say "thank you" I will never make you tea again."

Naru glanced at her sharply. Now that she was getting serious the welfare of his tea was in danger.

"That is not much of a threat, Mai; I can make my own."

His assistant raised one eyebrow delicately. "Oh? That's strange, why have you never done it before?"

She leaned in so that her face was right next to his and reached out her hand to take away his teacup. Naru grabbed her hand and stared straight at her, knowing that he wouldn't be able to give up drinking her tea.

"You win. Thank you for the tea," he sighed.

Yasuhara nudged a frozen Martin Davis who was shocked at the sight of his son saying "thank you" and Luella was in a similar state.

"**Mai-chan is the only person that can handle him**," Yasuhara stage whispered cheerfully.

The priestess pulled Mai into a hug. "Well done for standing up to the narcissist like that and getting him to say "thank you". I think his parents are grateful."

Mai found herself being pulled away from Ayako and onto her husband's lap.

"I have said thank you to them before, they did raise me after all."

By now the professor had recovered from the shock and was able to correct the reply.

"**Only a few times, Noll. At best you nod or say "that was considerate". Thank you Mai."**

**"That's fine with me Martin," **she replied cheerfully.

Naru poked her cheek. "It's getting late and we need to be up early tomorrow morning. Come on, Mai."

He gently pushed her off him and put an arm around her waist as he led her away from the bad influences known as SPR and his parents. If the conversation had continued he might have ended up being forced to say "please" all the time and Mai was definitely capable of that.

Once in their bedroom he pulled the case report out of his hand luggage and read it again whilst Mai was in the shower. The investigation was going to be difficult due to the fact that they would be isolated on the island and locals were normally distrustful of outsiders. It was also dangerous to collect any data on the castle as they would have to actually enter the ruins which was where everything had gone wrong for the previous investigators. A survey of the surrounding area would be required, Naru theorised thoughtfully.

When Mai came out of the bathroom dressed in Hello Kitty pyjamas she found Naru also in his light blue pyjamas reading the case file. As usual the sight of him in his pyjamas caused Mai to develop a pink tint to her cheeks. Despite the fact that they had been married for six months she still became slightly giddy at the sight.

However she was unaware that her husband had similar feelings upon seeing her in her favourite Hello Kitty pyjamas. As she got into bed next to him he gave her a cursory glance and noted her pyjamas which always made him think that she looked... cute, for the lack of a better word.

She leaned over to look at what he was reading and saw the photos that she had kept her from seeing by not including them in her copy of the case file. Mai winced at the photo which was of a cat's body with its head missing and the fur cut open like a corpse on a dissecting table with its internal organs spilling out.

"Mai, this happened to humans too. I am showing you this so you fully understand the dangers," Naru said and closed the file. "One error and we might all end up like this. Please promise me that you will actually follow my orders this time."

"I promise," Mai agreed, unable to forget the image of the cat.

Naru gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Thank you, Mai."

"You have to promise me the same thing too," she replied sharply. "It wouldn't do for only one of us to make the promise."

"I promise," he said understandingly. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if that happened to her and he knew she would feel that same way if it was him.

She yawned and switched off the lamp on her side of the bed. "Are you staying up to read?"

Living together had made both of them accustomed to each other's habits. Mai preferred to go straight to sleep when she was tired whereas Naru was more likely to read in bed before settling down. She showered before bed whereas Naru did it after waking up in the morning.

"No, I can read in the car whilst you sleep," he said and turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness.

"Hey... I..." Mai trailed off, too tired to argue.

Naru smiled. She was always amusing like that. He fluffed his pillow and lay down next to her.

"Good night, Mai."

* * *

**Ghost Hunt is getting a live action movie. Yay!**


	3. Date

**Isle of Death**

**Chapter 3:**

**Bold text denotes speech is in English.**

* * *

The weather was perfect. The sky was cloudless and a beautiful azure blue with the sun shining off the sea. A few seagulls flying through the sky completed the idyllic coastal picture.

Mai stared wide eyed at the landscape around her. They had arrived on the island an hour ago and were transporting the equipment to the base at the island's community centre.

"Mai, stop ogling the landscape and help set up the base," Naru called out to her.

She turned and picked up a camera from the pile. "Sorry Naru."

Yasuhara who was guarding the equipment pile whilst everyone moved it, decided it was time for one of his signature comments.

"Don't take offence at him, Mai-chan. He just wants you to ogle him instead."

The backlash was immediate. His boss shot him a malevolent glare and placed a hand on his wife's arm, leading her away.

The college student burst out laughing. By now everyone at SPR had noticed that the narcissist took a lot of enjoyment in baiting his assistant, but Yasuhara knew that baiting Naru using Mai was his own personal enjoyment due to the surplus of material available.

Assigning Yasuhara to toilet duty on the previous case had not dampened his penchant for making perverted comments so Naru resolved to find something worse. If the worst came to the worst and they had not made any progress with the case in a week's time he would simply send Yasuhara into the castle ruins for a survey.

The pair arrived at the base to find Lin poring over different maps of the island to work out the quickest way to the castle in the case of an emergency.

"Have you made any progress yet, Lin?" Naru enquired as he plugged in the screen that he had carried in.

Lin pulled out a red felt tip pen and drew a route onto one of the maps.

"This should take two minutes. Takigawa-san and Brown-san have gone to the church tower to take some aerial shots of the ruins. They are also leaving a camera there."

The scientist glanced down at one of the maps and observed that the church tower was the highest point on the island closest to the ruins. His employees had some sense after all. He glanced around at the base which was empty apart from himself, his wife and Lin.

"Where is Matsuzaki-san?"

"She has gone to the guesthouse to check everyone in and pick up room keys. We are all sharing again due to the lack of rooms."

"Should I share with her so she doesn't have to share with a male again?" Mai turned to go, but was pulled back by Naru's arm twisting around her waist.

"You will be sharing with me. I am your husband and you will not be able to avoid telling me whether or not you have any dreams related to the case," Naru informed her haughtily, although it really was because he knew he would miss her warmth next to him.

Lin averted his eyes from the romantic scene in front of him. "I'm going to pick up some cameras."

He left the room leaving the married couple alone.

"I never avoided telling you, I just didn't believe that they were psychic..." Mai muttered.

Naru sighed and picked up a map and a camera. He slipped his hand into Mai's. "Let's go survey the area around the castle."

His long suffering assistant picked up a tape measure and clipboard and packed a bag, now fully accustomed to her boss' orders at the start of a new case.

"I'm ready."

As a precaution Naru locked the door of the base behind him out of concern for the expensive equipment that they had brought with them.

"Is this a date?" Mai asked suddenly as they were halfway there. "If it is, it's our first one."

Naru scowled. "Doesn't that time I took you to see that film count?"

The brunette rolled her eyes. "That was a supernatural film and when we got home you gave me a lecture on how inaccurate it was and told me not to take it seriously as it would only make me stupider."

"I bought you popcorn."

"And I brought a thermos of tea, as requested by you and got dirty looks from everyone else for making too much noise when I poured it out for you into one of your china teacups," Mai retorted as they approached a seemingly empty field of tall uncut grass.

"Stop," Naru grabbed her. "We are here. It is best that we do not go any further."

Mai focused ahead of her and realised that she could see the outline of some ruins through the grass. To the left of her was a trail of trampled grass.

"Is this the way the teenagers went?"

He nodded. "I think we should pull some grass out so the camera has a better view."

He pulled up his sleeves and Mai did the same. She stared around at the peaceful field with the wind gently blowing through the long grass.

"It looks so peaceful here," she commented as she threw a handful of grass onto the steadily growing pile. "How come people found things in the moat and weren't affected?"

"That is because we are at the back of the ruins. The other side has all the vegetation cut back so there is a clear view of the moat. We are on this side because I want a full picture of the situation. The others can set up cameras later," Naru answered and turned to look at her. "Five more minutes and I will buy you an ice cream. I think they sell Cornish ice cream which is the best type."

Mai beamed. "Thank you Naru."

"It will also give us an opportunity to pick up the local gossip. People always relax their guard for young married couples."

She narrowed her eyes. "I can't speak fluent English, Naru. You can go on your own."

"All the better, they will be even more forthcoming to us," he said and took her hand again.

Reluctantly Mai allowed herself to be led back down the road to the harbour of the island where a small ice cream shop was located. Naru perused the list of selections on the blackboard outside in satisfaction before entering, causing the bell above the door to ring.

An elderly lady standing behind the counter gave them a brief suspicious nod, but her stiff stance relaxed when she spotted their joined hands and matching rings. Mai resisted the urge to roll her eyes, Naru was right as usual.

"**Two vanilla please**," Naru requested with one of his plastic smiles, which only Mai could see through.

The proprietor scooped ice cream onto two cones and placed them in holders on top of the counter. **"£1.50**."

Naru handed over a £2 coin. "**Keep the change."**

He handed one ice cream to Mai and picked up his. In a calculated act of affection, the narcissist tweaked her nose.

"**Don't eat too fast or you will get an ice cream headache."**

"**Aren't you two the paranormal investigators?" **the woman asked doubtfully.

Naru turned back. "**Yes, I am Kazuya Shibuya and this is my wife, Mai. What is your name?"**

**"Karen Abbott. You two don't look like the other investigators that have come here, but they all looked the same after going into the ruins..."**

**"We were called here after that group of teenagers went in on a dare..." **Naru trailed off and licked a drip of melting ice cream that was threatening to drip onto his hand.

Karen looked down sadly. "**That dare cost this island five teenagers and the only one that came back has never left her house since and is apparently uncontrollable."**

**"I'm sorry. We are hoping to solve this case so no one else will die," **Naru said in a respectful tone and bowed his head.

".**..You aren't going to enter the ruins, are you?" **She glanced at Mai. **"You can't leave such a young wife to be a widow."**

Naru could understand the woman's concerns. There was no way that he wanted to lose his life and leave Mai alone to look after Yakumo all her life.

**"Not until we fully understand the case. The other investigators that are part of my company are trained exorcists," **he assured her.

**"If you say so..." **she said doubtfully. **"Would it help if I gave you the address of the teenage girl that survived? Her parents should let you talk to her if you explain." **

**"That would be helpful."**

Once they were outside he reverted back to Japanese. "I told you that people let their guard down for young married couples."

Mai glared at him. Was that the only reason that he had brought her with him? Then she spotted that he had a spot of ice cream around his mouth. She stood on tiptoes and boldly licked it off for him.

"Thank you for the date, Noll."

His reaction was satisfying. He looked shocked before staring down at her with a smirk.

"Mai, you have ice cream on your shirt."

As she glanced down he dropped part of his ice cream down her neck, enjoying her shiver as the cold substance hit her skin.

"Naru! Stop bullying me!" she screamed and smeared her ice cream on his cheek.

"Ice cream is for eating, not playing," he admonished her playfully.

Unknown to the married couple, all of his employees were peeking around the corner.

"No way. Are they on a date?" Bou-san asked. "Jou-chan told me that they had never been on a date."

"We're in the middle of an investigation so it can't be," Ayako answered. "Lin-san?"

"Naru said that he was going to be questioning some of the locals..."

"Is he using Mai-chan to make him appear more approachable?" Yasuhara theorised.

"I think it might be 70% investigation and 30% date," Lin informed them shrewdly.

"I think the date part is over now, they have finished their ice creams," Bou-san observed and withdrew his head.

"That ice cream was the best one that I've ever tasted," Mai said and stretched her arms happily, contented with the "date".

"I told you that Cornish ice cream is superior. It should be down here..."

"The blue cottage on the left side," she recited what the lady in the ice cream shop had said. "Naru, should I talk to the girl? You have a very dark presence and she is closer to my age than yours."

He had to admit that she was right. He wasn't the right type of person to question mentally unstable females.

"Just this once."

* * *

**I apologise for the typo in the previous chapter that suggested that Naru was wearing Hello Kitty pyjamas...**


End file.
